After a Busy Day in the Office, Creating a Haven of Calm Proved a Must for Emma

Byline: By Sarah Mogford

For Emma Rackley, maintaining the character of her 1895 Victorian semi-detached was a must.

With some of the beautiful original features of the house still intact, her challenge lay in complementing the old with contemporary modern chic.

Putting her knowledge of interior design to the test Emma, business manager for furniture giant Leekes, set about transforming the Newport house into a home for her and her partner.

"When we purchased the house quite a bit of work needed to be done, both structurally and cosmetically," she said.

"The chimney had collapsed so replacing that was top on the list of jobs. Work then began on interior schemes."

Deciding on her favourite room proved to be an easy task for Emma, with the living room coming out on top.

With the original fireplace acting as the accent feature of the room, keeping the rest of the decor simple, so as not to detract from it, was the key.

"I love the crisp whiteness of the walls, it makes the room airy and spacious, fresh in the summer but is made homely and cosy in the depths of winter by the lit fireplace," she said.

"White was the colour of choice for the walls for a specific reason. I'm not a fan of fussiness, I like things to appear clean and simple. The furniture we chose for the room is strong, we wanted the pieces we had to make the room what it is, not the wall colour."

Avoiding the temptation to over fill the room with accessories - candles, cushions and the like - has left the attention to be directed towards statement pieces such as the ultra stylish cowskin rug, allowing it to take centre stage in the middle of the room. …

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